It says something about Cynthia Teniente-Matson that she spent her first day as San Jose State University’s 31st president on a blustery morning in January 2023 planting a tree during a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day service event at Watson Park.
The story was told twice Thursday during Teniente-Matson’s official presidential investiture, once by Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and again by California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia. Both noted that she was dressed head to toe as a Spartan — with a blue beanie, blue-and-gold raincoat and bright yellow boots — and that it was entirely in her character to jump in to help where she could.
“I think it is in the spirit of who I am. I wanted to be where we could have a service impact,” Teniente-Matson said after the ceremony at the Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose. In attendance were 23 of her fellow CSU presidents, as well as SJSU students, faculty, staff and alumni, city and county elected officials and other community members — including three of her predecessors: Robert Caret, Mohammad Qayoumi and Mary Papazian.
Thirteen months into her tenure — formal investitures are generally held during or shortly after a university president’s first year — Teniente-Matson has become known as SJSU’s most vocal president in decades. Provost Vincent del Casino called her “a passionate advocate for students and an amazing lead storyteller” for the university and said he’s optimistic about San Jose State’s future under her leadership.
“If the first year of President Teniente-Matson is any indication, we’re in for a crazy ride,” he said during the ceremony.
Teniente-Matson, who spent eight years as president of Texas A&M-San Antonio before coming to San Jose State, may not be entirely breaking the mold of SJSU presidents — but she’s definitely reshaping it.
Dominic Treseler, a San Jose State political science student who serves as president of the California State Student Association, recalled Teniente-Matson’s first meeting with him and three of his Associated Students colleagues more than a year ago, just before her presidency officially started.
“When we stepped into that room with President Matson, she dispelled any tension immediately,” he said. She insisted they watch a San Jose State football game together and casually chatted about the students’ time at SJSU and their roles as student leaders. Treseler said over the next several weeks he often heard from students who had met with her as well, and appeared to be listening to them and their concerns.
“President Matson has shown in her first year that she sees the value in student connections for the betterment of our university. I also don’t think we’ve had a better spokesperson,” he said, adding that he often hears that in community settings, Teniente-Matson centers the stories of SJSU students and highlights the university’s role as Silicon Valley’s economic engine.
Thursday’s investiture was historic as Teniente-Matson is the first Latina to hold the post in San Jose State’s 167-year history. The audience was treated to performances by the San Jose State marching band and the SJSU Choraliers. Garcia, the CSU chancellor, presented Teniente-Matson with a presidential medallion designed by SJSU graduate Yvonne Escalante that includes a silver weaving to represent the university as a tapestry of innovation.
Innovation was also a key part of Teniente’s speech, talking about the role San Jose State students and faculty can play in Silicon Valley’s next iteration, centered around artificial intelligence, spatial computing, robotics, space travel and climate science.
“The competitive advantage moment in the AI stratosphere is right here, right now at SJSU,” she said to cheers. “Our faculty have been at the forefront — chip by chip, dataset by dataset — to what is now the cusp of this generative AI workforce of the future.”
She also acknowledged San Jose State’s long history, including “moments of truth” that aren’t all positive, like the reception Spartan athlete Tommie Smith and John Carlos received in the immediate aftermath of their Black Power salute protest at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics or the university’s role in the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. When she says that she’s committed to the legacy of Speed City, you can bet she means both the historic success SJSU achieved on the track as well as the civil rights legacy entwined with those victories.
“This institution has always been at the epicenter of the future,” she said. “We have always been resilient and we will continue to lead as justice-oriented strategic changemakers.”
